Looking In From the Outside
by Random Little Imp
Summary: Margot was new to MI6 but from her workstation in the corner she saw quite a lot.
1. Chapter 1

Margot couldn't believe where she was, even if she'd been there for a week already. The sleek, clean glass walls, top of the line equipment and the excitement of secret government work. MI6's Q Branch was by far more than she had expected from a workplace, even if they had told her all about it before she got here.

Growing up in Ohio, Margot Phillips had never been what one would call a social butterfly. She much preferred to stay in and fiddle with her computer components than go out to the mall. She preferred science fiction movies to the romantic comedies the other girls enjoyed. It wasn't until she got to MIT that she finally found people she could truly relate to. The years there flew by leaving Margot's life full of good friends, new ideas and the skills to make them reality.

She graduated at the top of her class, but the job offers weren't coming in. All of her classmates were receiving calls from all types of companies, but even when Margot managed to get an HR representative to look at her credentials they always apologized rather nervously and ended their meetings quickly. It was as if Margot had been blacklisted, but she couldn't think of why.

Then one day she got a rather unusual call from someone with a British accent who seemed interested in meeting with her at the local British Embassy. She couldn't understand the need for such formality, but just brushed it off as an overseas company with no local offices.

"Our department has recently experienced some employee loses, and we are recruiting to fill these unfortunately vacant positions as soon as possible. My employers have looked over your records and think that you could be a good fit." The woman was poised and had a calm friendly demeanor while she discussed the position in as little detail as possible.

"Wait, are you telling me that you are head hunting me for a position in a British Government Agency? I'm not British." Margot was more than a little confused by the whole idea.

"You accept our offer, and you will become a full fledged British citizen. It's sort of mandatory actually."

Margot thought the idea was crazy, but a wonderful opportunity. Also it was her only opportunity. The head hunter wasn't too surprised to hear that Margot hadn't gotten any other offers yet, in fact she was sure the woman had almost smirked when Margot mentioned it.

Now that she was here, Margot had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps MI6 had cheated a bit to hire her. Some might have been a little angry at that, Margot instead felt honored that they thought so highly of her skills.

Her position was pretty low on the office totem pole, but she could see everything that was going on from her workstation in the corner. And while the apartment they had found for her was small and a bit dingy, it was close to the office and she didn't spend much time there anyhow. Although she did like being able to watch her favorite British Sci-Fi shows sooner than her American pals could.

Her department was headed up by a gangly young man with a mop of dark curls, a love of Earl Grey tea and went by the designation of Q. He didn't seem to be too much older than her, but looks could be deceiving. He certainly had more skill than Margot, in pretty much every area. It was a bit of a turn on really, but as he was her superior she kept those thoughts under wraps. Besides he seemed fairly uninterested in everyone. Perhaps he was one of those asexual intellectual types, or a cyborg. The idea always made her giggle, which ended up getting her a few strange looks now and then.

As she entered the Q Branch that morning, she stopped to admire the view of giant monitors along the back wall, as she had every morning for the past week. It reminded her how lucky she was to be there. It was while she was standing there that she was bumped into. The person couldn't have been walking that fast but their mass was great enough to nearly knock her over, making her drop her bag and coat in her attempt to regain balance. Just as she thought she was going to face plant on the tile floor a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back up on to her feet. Once she seemed to be steady the arm moved from her waist and the man it belonged to moved around in front of her to help pick up her dropped items. They both knelt at the same moment and Margot was in the middle of apologizing for stopping in his way when she met his eyes. Words failed her as she gazed into eyes too blue to be believed. His smooth voice apologized to her for not watching where he was going, she barely heard him, as her gazed dropped to the amazingly soft looking lips that were speaking.

"I guess we'll both need to be more carefully next time." The man smiled at her as they stood up slowly. Margot had to remind herself to breathe but managed a small laugh as she took her coat from his hand. He was older, a touch of grey in his short blonde hair, but smartly dressed in a tailored suit of dark grey. Wide shoulders and a well muscled chest pulling slightly against his pressed shirt, barely visible under his suit jacket.

"007, I hope you managed to bring at least some of your equipment back this time." Q called from his office door across the room.

"Excuse me Miss; it seems I am being summoned." The man gave Margot a quick smile and a wink before turning and walking off towards Q's office.

So that was 007, an actual double-0 agent. She hadn't actually seen one yet. She had overheard the communication feed of a mission with 003 last week. She hadn't been told exactly what the agents did, but she had figured out enough to know why the non-disclosure agreement she had to sign at the beginning of her employment was so thick. She also gleamed enough to know that these agents were not the type of men (or women) to be trifled with; they were well-trained and dangerous.

After she had settled into her workspace she chanced a look over at Q's office. The door was open and while she was too far away to hear what was being said, she could see well enough. 007 was perched on the edge of the Quartermasters' desk, leaning over in a very flirtatious way. Q on the other hand was looking at some unrecognizable bit of broken tech on the desk in front of him, his face clearly showing the exasperation that would have been clear in his voice. Margot could also see a glint of a smile in his eyes, and a slight blush across his cheeks, as 007 leaned in and patted the young man on the shoulder before almost jumping off the desk and heading out of Q Branch.

007 had been flirting with Q. And despite trying to hide it, Q had liked the attention he got from this handsome agent. So, not a cyborg after all.


	2. Chapter 2

As the weeks past Margot saw many similar encounters between the Quartermaster and the handsome Agent. It was like watching a romance novel play out right in front of her. Surprisingly no one else seemed to notice anything, or perhaps they were just better at hiding their observations than she was. She couldn't help smiling every time she witnessed 007's not so subtle flirtations. It made the rest of her day's stress lighten considerably.

Her job was stressful, being the newest recruit she had a long way to go to prove her worth. She ended up staying later than the others, delving so far into coding that she could still see it dancing in front of her eyes when she looked away from her monitor. It was like seeing the Matrix, and she had to blink it away before she tripped over something on her way to the coffee maker. And when she wasn't coding, she was tinkering with some bit of tech. She had to cut her hair shorter after too many mishaps with the soldering tools.

The only other person who stayed there later than her was Q himself. She would see him in his office, staring at his monitor with single-minded purpose. He'd be talking an agent through some late night task till the mission was complete, and then he would collapse back into his chair with a huff of relief.

It was on one such evening that things in Margot's work life took an interesting turn. She was working on a new prototype trying to get it to accept the programming. For some reason the tech's installed hardware kept rejecting the coding. She was too busy cursing at her screen to notice someone walk up behind her. "Such language for a lady, what has you in such a mood Phillips?"

Margot nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of her boss right behind her. She turned to look sheepishly at Q, "Sorry sir, I'm just trying to get this prototype ready for your presentation tomorrow, but I'm having a bit of trouble installing Marcus' programming."

"Perhaps I should take a look, do you mind?" Q waved a hand towards her workstation.

"No, go right ahead, maybe you can find what I'm missing?" Margot step aside and let Q take her spot at the keyboard. She watched as he skimmed through the code faster than she could follow, stopped, deleted a couple of lines and typed in some new lines in their place and hit enter. The whole system flew into action and the install went without another hiccup.

"Seems Marcus got a couple of sub-routines wrong is all." Q turned to her with a grin.

"I can't believe I missed that, I feel like such a noob!" Margot groaned. She finally got some attention from the department head, and all it did was show how inept she was.

Q gave her a quick pat on the back. "The fault was not yours, it was Marcus'. It happens to the best of us. Besides you've been here for over fourteen hours, you need some rest. Don't you have a bed you should be in?"

"Of course," Margot smiled, "and you have a handsome agent waiting for you, I'd imagine."

Q stiffened beside her as she realized what she had just said. Damn her sleepy brain getting her in trouble. "Handsome agent?" Q slowly turns towards her with a look of confusion mixed with embarrassment, his cheeks showing a hint of pink.

Margot's own face was five shade a deeper red as she looked back at Q, sputtering out an apology, "Oh God, I shouldn't have, it's just he's home right now and I figured… I mean I see how you are together, I just assumed…Which you shouldn't do, assume that is, ever. I should really shut up now, shouldn't I?" Well it was meant to be an apology, what came out was something else entirely.

"How we are together?" Q's face was a bit redder, but his voice no less confused, I don't know what you mean. It was then that Margot realized that Q and 007 were not in fact dating as she thought, and Q didn't seem to realize that they should be.

"Well yeah," Margot tried to talk calmly, so as not to spook the Quartermaster, "The way 007 flirts with you, and how you blush at every touch. You are always a bit happier after he's stopped by, and he always leaves here like he's floating a couple of inches off the ground."

"He flirts with everyone, it doesn't mean anything." Q sighed, trying to convince himself that she was wrong.

"He certainly knows how to lay on the charm, sure," Margot placed a hand on Q's arm drawing his attention to her, "but his smile is always a bit wider and more genuine after he leaves your office. And I've seen the way he stares at you when he's with other techs, with you it is different."

Q was suddenly a bit flustered, which made him seem even younger than he already did, "What should I do?"

"Well you could try asking him to dinner?" Margot suggested, but the withering look she received back was understandable, how could anyone be expected to ask out a god-like being such as 007. It was ridiculous to Margot, and she wasn't even the one who'd be doing it. "I suppose you just go on like always and wait for him to make the first move. That's what I'd do anyway."

After that Q took a special interest in Margot's work, giving her more responsibilities and she lived up to all of it. The other techs took notice of her new 'Teacher's Pet' position, and she had even less invitations to go out with them for drinks than before. Of course she didn't really mind, she loved her work, and the time she got to spend working with Q was actually pretty fun.

But then something happened that changed things again. 007 was in the field and Q was in his ear while his top-tier techs (T3 as they were known among the rest of the department) were running maps and satellite feeds.

It was a particularly rough mission along the borders of North Korea. It had also gone quite pear-shaped in the last five minutes. "God damn it 007, how is it every time you're in the field there are significantly more explosions than necessary? " Q screamed into his comms.

"Just tell me how to get the hell out of here Q and I'll let you spank me when I get back." You could hear the grin on 007 lips as he spoke.

Luckily for Q, Margot was the only one paying attention to him as a blush crept up his face, "Turn down the alley on your left, go five meters and you should find an entrance to a residential housing unit with a helipad on the roof. Retrieval will be there in five."

"Roger that." The whole room heard Bonds steps as he ran around the corner, and then the shouts in Korean, right before the barrage of gunfire rang out of the speakers. There was a grunt, and a spike in the heart monitor connected to 007, "Shit, I'm hit," there was a sound of bond slamming through the door to the stairwell that would lead him to the roof, but instead of the echo of footsteps running up concrete stairs all that was heard was the sound of a body falling to the ground, "Sorry Q, I'm not sure I'll be making it back for that spanking."

"007 get up to the roof." Q was starting to get frantic, his voice cracking, "007 that is an order, get up those stairs…007…Bond answer me…Bond…James!"

Tanner was already on the phone giving retrieval direction to carry the agent up from the ground floor. Meanwhile Margot took the moment to get Q a refill on his cup of Earl Grey, he had already stopped screaming into the comms as the team confirmed Bond was on the helicopter on his way to the closest medical station. His heart beat was faint on the monitor, but it was still going. Margot handed Q the mug and slowly lead him back to his office, closing the door behind them so he could break down in private. She didn't leave his side.

The next morning Q announced her promotion to the position of his personal assistant, but she knew it was really to the position of good friend.


	3. Chapter 3

James Bond was not happy. He was back from another successful mission and he made his way down to Q Branch to return his gear. He could have dropped it with any of the techs there, but he always took it straight to Q himself because he truly enjoyed their little chats. James would flirt and Q would pretend to ignore him, but James would always catch a hint of a smile on the lips of his Quartermaster. He wasn't sure why he enjoyed messing with the younger man like that, but it was a joy he looked forward too every time.

Except this time it was not fun. Q was dismissive and cold, barely acknowledging James' presence. Something was not right; it was as if Q was mad at the Agent for something, but James couldn't think of why. Hell, he'd been in Qatar for the last two weeks.

The frustration of it was almost too much, he needed an outlet. He was on his way to the elevators, intent on finding the nearest bar to headquarters when he spotted her, Q's newest little tech, the American girl Phillips. She was just walking into the file room with some papers, and James decided to follow her.

He shut the door and gave the lock a quick flick before she realized he was there. She turned around suddenly but in the small space he was already on her, gently pressing her to the wall of cabinets. He leaned in close, looking her right in the eyes. "Hello, you're Phillips right? I don't believe we have been properly introduced. I'm Bond, James Bond." She was startled, and he heard her breath hitch in her throat as he moved closer, his lips brushing against her cheek as he whispered into her ear, "I must say, you are by far the loveliest tech I've seen come through Q Branch."

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're hitting on me!" She pushed Bond away from her, "I can't believe you! Do you try to be this much of a prick, or does it just come naturally to you?" The shock at being rebuffed that showed on Bond's face was quickly replaced with a cold glare of anger, how dare this girl berate him like this. He was 007, Special Agent for MI6 and she was just a lowly tech from Q Branch. If Margot saw the change in his expression she didn't show it, nor did it slow her down as she poke a finger into his chest. It was all Bond could do not to snap that finger in half, but deep down he knew M would not be amused.

"I realize you were not expecting Q to be quite so chilly to you, but hitting on his friends is not how to get back in his good graces. God, maybe you should rethink the retaliation and instead try to figure out why he's acting like the jealous girlfriend all of the sudden." She didn't flinch as Bond's eyes bore into her, the blue getting brighter as he got angry at her words. How dare she talk about Q like that. 'Jealous girlfriend', Q would never stand for someone even suggesting that he would ever be defined in such terms. He was just about to grab her by the arms and show her just what his training had taught him about subduing aggressive targets when she said something that made him stop dead in his tracks. "Maybe next time you're on a mission you'll remember to turn off your comm before bedding the mark's wife!"

Bond's blood suddenly ran cold and his eyes widened as he realize what she was talking about, "Oh, fuck."

* * *

It had happened three days prior, Bond was infiltrating the mark's home in search of intel with Q staying late to be in his ear. It was MI6 regulations that when an agent was on a mission there is someone in Q Branch available at all times for them. If an agent had his comms turned on protocol stated someone had to be listening. When it came to Bond, it was almost always Q on the other end of the line. Margot had stayed with him this time in case he needed assistance.

Bond had already been in the house earlier in the evening for a cocktail party and had figured out the location of the safe. He had also caught the eye of the mark's wife Ivanka, a tall blonde from Belarus with ample curves and little morals when it came to the sanctity of marriage. So when she caught him roaming the halls after everyone else had gone to bed he decided to play it off as him being there to see her.

As they fell into bed, the sounds of kissing and skin against skin contact were echoing through Q branch. Q reached down and took the feed off speaker so it could only be heard on his own ear piece. The look of devastation on his face was enough to break Margot's heart. "Can't you turn it off on our end?" she asked hopefully.

"Not if I value my job, someone needs to be listening in case he needs something. You might as well head home for the night; I doubt I'll need you for this." Q answered with a sigh and then retreated to his office, where she watched his collapse into his chair, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

A day had passed since the unfortunate meet up with 007 in the file room. Bond had walked out before her, looking a bit disturbed by the consequences of his actions without saying another word to anyone. If Q noticed anything he didn't show it. Margot had returned to her desk, which had been moved to a spot in front of Q's office after her promotion, feeling a bit proud of her sudden self-control in the face of, well Bond's face. God, that man could charm the panties off a nun if he wanted to.

She had expected Bond to stay as far away from her as possible after her little outburst, either from anger at her turning down his advances, or from embarrassment at his obvious missteps. What actually happened was something she never saw coming, although thinking about it later she probably should have.

It was nearly lunch time when Margot's phone rang. Most of the time her phone was silent, unless Tanner or Eve called down to speak with Q. M's office staff were the only people in MI6 that showed any respect to her or her new position, so she was a bit surprised by who was on the other end of the line. "Q Branch, Phillips speaking. How may I be of service?"

"Phillips, it's Bond. Don't hang up." Bond was calling her, he never called, he always just showed up. Even after getting shot, the minute medical could no longer keep him in bed he was back in Q Branch.

"Did you want me to transfer you to Q?" Not that Q would answer if she told him who was on the line.

"No, I am calling to speak to you. I just wanted to avoid the slap in the face, that I so rightly deserve, by begging for forgiveness from afar."

"Damn right you'd deserve it." She was trying really hard not to smile at the big, bad, secret agent who was begging for her forgiveness. "I'm not the one who needs to hear your begging agent." She was careful not to say his name aloud, in case Q was listening.

"I know, I tried. He won't see me, won't take my calls, and I have a sneaking suspicion he's been deleting my emails before reading them."

"Actually he left that last one up to me, sorry." Margot was starting to feel bad for Bond. Yeah, he screwed up, big time, but he wanted so bad to make amends.

"I need your help, your advice. Please, meet me for lunch. There is a nice little café a couple of blocks from HQ that's quiet enough for us to talk." Margot could hear a hint of desperation in his voice, how could she say no.

"Fine, give me the address; I'll meet you there in ten minutes." As she jotted down the information Margot wondered when 'Couples Counseling' had been added to her job description.

* * *

"I never meant to leave the comms open, I just wanted to shut her up. Saying the woman was vapid would be kind. Kissing her seemed the fastest way to stop the sound of her voice; I thought I had turned it off already. I should have made sure." A miserable Bond sat across from her at a small table near the back of the café, looking like he hadn't slept.

"He took it as you showing how little you think of him and his affections towards you. Like you were laughing at him for thinking there was ever a chance for anything more between you and him." Margot stated calmly while picking at her salad.

"His affections for me?" Bond glanced up, looking a little surprised by this, yet pleased. "He has affections for me?"

Margot was getting exasperated by these men and their apparent lack of understanding of their own feelings, "Yes, he has feelings for you, and you have feelings for him. We all love each other, what a beautiful day it is."

"Wait, what makes you think I have feelings for Q?" Bond was now leaning forwards on the table. From his statement one might think he was offended by the suggestion, but the smirk on his lips told Margot otherwise.

"Oh please, everyone else in the office might be blind, but I have seen enough to know better. Including how you stare at his pert little ass while he's walking away from you." Bond's eye widened ever so slightly as he smiled across the table at her, "What, just because the item is out of my price range doesn't mean I can't appreciate the packaging."

"Perhaps we can appreciate it together sometime, in a more hands-on way." This was more like the Bond she knew.

"Let's see if we can't get him to talk to you again before we start planning a ménage à trios, besides I don't like to share."

* * *

The next morning Margot arrived a little later than usual to find Bond sitting on the edge of Q's desk as if the last few days had never happened. The two men were actually smiling, even if Q's seemed to be more from nerves than anything else. As she watched silently from her desk she saw Bond lean forward and place a chaste kiss on Q's cheek, bring a rush of blood to the younger man's cheeks, and then walking out of the office. As he passed Margot's desk she saw him shoot her a quick wink as he straightened his tie. That man could certainly work a tailored suit.

"Phillips please come to my office." Q called to her, his voice sounded a bit stern and worried her. Perhaps it didn't go as well as she thought it had. She quickly got up and made her to stand before Q. "Close the door." Margot's trepidation rose as she did ask she was asked, but when she turned back towards her boss she found herself enclosed in a fierce hug. All she could do was hug him back and hold on as Q began bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Well, someone's in a good mood. Should I ask why?" Margot said with a giggle.

Q released her, holding her at arm's length, "Like you don't know." It was then that he motioned towards his desk where Margot spotted the remains of gift-wrap and ribbon strewn around a medium-sized box that was open in the center of the desk. "My favorite loose Earl Grey and a TARDIS shaped tea infuser, like he would ever figure that out on his own. Thank you."

"He just needed you to listen to his apology. I figured a well thought out gift might lower your defenses long enough for him to get it out." She smiled up at Q. He might be her boss while they were at the office, but they were friends all the time and seeing him happy like this made her happy as well.

"I'm going to have to cancel our Doctor Who marathon plans for tonight. It would seem I have a date with one of the most dangerous men in Britain. He's taking me out to dinner and drinks." Q smiled down at her.

"Perfectly understandable, we can reschedule."

* * *

When Margot got to work the next morning she knew things had gone well for her boys on their date as she stared at the rather large bouquet of tulips that was sitting on her desk. She pulled the little envelope from between the blooms and read the card enclosed and smiled.

"I'm not sure I'd want to share him with you either. As a thank you, remind me to introduce you to Alec someday. –JB"

Well that sounded fine with her.


End file.
